Dear Past Self, You Should Know This About Our Autism Journey

It’s been a while. How have you been? Tired, I bet. It’s been like 10 years. What is Bob now? 15? 16? I always lose track of time. I bet he’s grown. I’m pretty sure you’re so proud of him. I just wanted to drop you a line to remind you of a couple of things — things I hope you did on this journey. You know the one.

The one called life.

I hope you took time outside of therapy to enjoy him. Childhood is short. I know you want the best for him. But I hope you took time to watch him grow — from kindergarten to high school seems like forever, but it’s over in the blink of an eye. Seriously, I hope you didn’t blink. Because if you did, you missed it. You missed some awesome things. I hope you didn’t.

I hope you took some time for yourself. I know his schedule is hectic, and you’re busy. Truly I get it. But I hope you did. I hope you remembered that before this little person, you were a person too — with wants and needs and hopes and dreams outside of your precious angel. You see, it was important for you to do this. Not only important for you but for him. He needed you at your best. I hope you didn’t disappoint. It was so important that you be on your A game.

With all the ups and downs, I hope you understood what this was all about. In the grand scheme of things everything is the same — we’re all on our own journey — autism or not. We’re all stumbling through life. It’s not always on your shoulders. You can’t always fix everything. And that’s OK. It’s truly OK.

Life will continue moving on, regardless of the outcome or the circumstances. It just does. Thank God it does!